? Help Me Stop Smoking?

[Phil78]

you have to want to quit, because you're tired of smelling it (and smelling ), your tired of the cough, tired of the bad breath, tired of smoking.

 

you also are not going to have very good luck quitting if you're around smokers. my wife and i quit several years ago (for the ?th time). we don't hand out with anyone, and the people we're around don't smoke. so, we were keeping each other going. every time i would quit, she didn't want to, so after a couple weeks of not smoking, i'd be smoking again.

 

finally, i got her to give it up, and my quitting was so much easier. you can't be around it

[Darkmatter]

Well folks, here I go! Quitting today! Who's with me? I have been doing my mantras for the past few days, "You hate these cigarettes, they cost too much money, they don't even taste good, they are killing you."I have warned the family. I have stocked up on munchies. My woman is making medibles. My boss has been warned, and she gave me a Nicotine Inhaler, (It's kind of like A Vapo-cig).

 

I am ready for this. I am going into it with a positive attitude.

[Medcnman]

look up Alpha Lifestyles in Canada. Its a laser accupuncture procedure. I smoked for 21 years at 2+ packs a day. I walked out of there a non smoker. If you follow all their directions, it will work. it was $315 at the time i went in. they are just over the river in Canada. There is also one in Birmingham but the lady that does the procedure is annoying as hell and she makes you want a cig shortly after walking through the door!!! I quit for 5 years after going to the one in Canada. I would still be a non smoker if I hadnt gotten transferred to the rough part of Detroit with my job. My withdrawls were minimal and easy to control. The docs in Canada make you feel at ease and comfortable. It doesnt hurt at all! I will quit again!!!! And I will go to Canada to do it. Good Luck Friend!! Medcnman.

[LongHairBri]

here's Kentukys suggestion:

 

In the smoker-heavy state of Kentucky, a cancer center is suggesting something that most health experts won’t and the tobacco industry can’t: If you really want to quit, switch to smoke-free tobacco.

 

The James Graham Brown Cancer Center and the University of Louisville are aiming their “Switch and Quit” campaign at the city of Owensboro. It uses print, radio, billboard and other advertising to urge smokers to swap their cigarettes for smokeless tobacco and other products that do not deliver nicotine by smoke.

 

Supporters say smokers who switch are more likely to give up cigarettes than those who use other methods such as nicotine patches, and that smokeless tobacco carries less risk of disease than cigarettes do.

 

“We need something that works better than what we have,” said Dr. Donald Miller, an oncologist and director of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center, which supports the effort along with the University of Louisville. “This is as reasonable a scientific hypothesis as anybody has come up with and it needs to be tried.”

 

The campaign runs counter to the prevailing opinion of the public health community, which holds that there is no safe way to use tobacco. Federal researchers, however, have begun to at least consider the idea that smokers might be better off going smokeless.

 

The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health says on its website that the use of all tobacco products “should be strongly discouraged,” and that there is “no scientific evidence that using smokeless tobacco can help a person quit smoking.” But this year it approved funding for a study that might provide some of that very evidence.

 

“Switch and Quit” is directed by Brad Rodu, a professor of medicine at the University of Louisville. He analyzed the 2000 National Health Interview Survey and found that male smokers who switched to smokeless tobacco were more likely to quit smoking than those who used nicotine patches or gum.

 

“Americans are largely misinformed about the relative risks. ... They think smokeless tobacco is just as dangerous,” Rodu said. “This level of misinformation is an enormous barrier to actually accomplishing tobacco-harm reduction because if people believe that the products have equal risk, there’s not a real incentive.”

 

The program is funded through Rodu’s research money, which includes grants from the tobacco industry. Grants through the University of Louisville are unrestricted, which the program says “ensures the scientific independence and integrity of research projects and activities.”

 

“There’s absolutely no influence whatsoever,” Rodu said. “I decide, along with my colleagues, how we use the money, for what projects, and this is entirely the case. I would not have a situation where there was some control over the kind of projects I undertake.”

 

Tobacco companies want to market more smokeless tobacco and other cigarette alternatives to make up for falling cigarette sales. Some have introduced “snus” — small pouches like tea bags that users stick between the cheek and gum — and dissolvable tobacco — finely milled tobacco shaped into orbs, sticks and strips.

 

But they’re barred by federal law from explicitly marketing them as less risky than cigarettes — at least for now. That means the “Switch and Quit” program can do something the tobacco industry itself cannot: claim that smokeless tobacco has a health benefit when compared to smoking.

 

The program says smoking kills about 220 adults a year in and around Owensboro. The state of Kentucky, a leading tobacco grower, has the nation’s highest smoking and lung cancer rates.

 

Owensboro and the surrounding area consume about 3 million cigarettes a week, according to the program. That amounts to well over a pack for every man, woman and child in the community of about 115,000 people.

 

Owensboro resident Vernon Goode had smoked for about 10 years before he recently traded his Marlboros for dissolvable tobacco tablets. The campaign didn’t inspire him to quit, but he said he thought it was a good idea.

 

“I was just wanting to quit because, you know, I could feel it in my lungs,” Goode said. “I’ll smoke a cigarette every once in a while, but not very often. I want to quit altogether and I’m just using this right here as I guess what you’d call a stepping stone.”

 

The Owensboro program has raised concerns among some in the public health community who say organizers are claiming smokeless tobacco is a healthier alternative to smoking without approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

 

A 2009 law gives the FDA authority to evaluate health risks of tobacco products and approve those that could be marketed as safer than what’s currently for sale. None have been given the OK yet. The FDA also plans to regulate electronic cigarettes, battery-powered plastic and metal devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that users inhale.

 

Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, called the program “a giant experiment with the people of Owensboro without rules or guidance designed to protect individuals from experimental medicine.”

 

Smokeless tobacco isn’t a safe alternative to cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Health warnings on the products required by the FDA state the same thing.

 

However, some studies, including a 2007 report from the Royal College of Physicians in London titled “Harm Reduction in Nicotine Addiction,” suggest that some smokeless tobacco products are about 90 percent less harmful than cigarettes.

 

“The worst that you can say about smokeless tobacco is that it’s the lesser of two evils,” said Dr. Randall Thomas, an oncologist with the Owensboro Medical Health System. The health system, the community’s largest employer, is going smoke-free in 2013 and is offering Rodu’s program as one of a variety of quit-smoking tools for its employees.

 

“I don’t think we have any problem in telling a person that drinks a six-pack a day that if they could cut it back to two beers a day or two drinks a day that their health risks are greatly reduced,” Thomas said. “Finding a way to let people have their nicotine that carries less risk, it’s the realistic solution.”

 

The Owensboro program doesn’t suggest pharmaceutical nicotine replacement gum or patches. That’s because they are regulated to provide very small doses of nicotine and are recommended for only a short period of time, while smokeless tobacco can be used as long as a smoker needs, Rodu said.

 

Myers, of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said more research is needed before anyone should suggest that the nation’s 46 million smokers would be better off using smokeless tobacco. In the meantime, he said, there are a host of FDA-approved products that can help people give up smoking.

 

“There’s a right way and a wrong way to determine whether smokeless tobacco can and should be marketed as a way to help people quit,” Myers said.

 

The National Cancer Institute approved funding earlier this year for a nationwide 1,250-person study to look at whether being given a snus product changes the habits of smokers who are not motivated to quit.

 

The tobacco industry sees smokeless tobacco as its future, said Matthew J. Carpenter, a psychology professor at the Medical University of South Carolina who is conducting the yearlong study.

 

Carpenter said the snus study will examine what smokers do when given smokeless tobacco. He won’t look at the health effects, or advise smokers to use the snus to quit.

 

“They are probably safer than conventional cigarettes, if for no other reason than you’re not burning anything, you’re not smoking anything, you’re not inhaling any smoke,” he said.

 

“If you compare it to conventional cigarettes, they’re probably a little bit better. If you compare it to quitting, they’re absolutely worse.”

[happygolucky]

I quit cold turkey after smoking for over 33 years. I watched my mother and sister (age 44) both pass from lung cancer, both were heavy smokers. I smoked right threw both of their illness.. and figured I needed it to get through the stress and everything else. I found support and learning about the addiction helped me. I used the website http://wwww.whyquit.com and the becomeanex site that they have adds for on the television for my support.. I'm now close to being 4 years smoke free.. NEVER EVER QUIT QUITTING...

And once you put out that last cigarette.. never ever light up another one.. they travel in packs.. Find yourself some good support.. it means everything!

[kev]

I've been smoking cigarettes 40 years now and next week it will be 41. Have tried to quit--hypnosis, counciling, Chantix, all over the past 3 years and I can't stop! (Although I am down from 3 packs a day to 'only' two). What worked for you? I'm in great health without problems, but how long can I be lucky? I really need to quit. Gotta go, time to light up...just can't stop.

First you must really really want to. Picture yourself NOT smoking......picture yourself quitting.....you must see it happen and then it will. When I quit ,after many failed attempts, I just told myself the last time I tried to quit and failed will be the last time I fail at this- and it was.I also found the nicotine patches just enough help to take the EDGE off. I quit smoking on 5-08-92 after 20 years and I am so glad I did. But remember I wanted to quit.....really....realllyyy wanted to. If you must pamper yourself with other things for a week or two like food or booze or weed -if you can- but also you must do those other things in MODERATION. I am sending you all the good luck I can and I know you will quit smoking.

[kev]

My dad quit cigarettes after they removed one lung and part of the other. He quit drinking too and looked really healthy for a while until the brain tumors kicked in...

Very sorry to hear this....God Bless You

[Purplehaze]

You must really want to quit, and you know you should, think of your health and the money, I took a trip to Florida after 1 year saved 5 k quitting.

 

Lets not talk about the smell and yes they taste like bunny muffin.

 

I am praying for you brother

[Mememe]

Eat eggplant when you have a craving. Eggplant is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant, with a concentration of 100 ng/g (or 0.01 mg/100g).

[Nix]

Eat eggplant when you have a craving. Eggplant is richer in nicotine than any other edible plant, with a concentration of 100 ng/g (or 0.01 mg/100g).

 

That's really interesting - didn't know that! I looked it up and you would have to eat 20 lbs of eggplant to equal one cigarette so don't worry about quitting eggplant.

 

Like everyone else said, you have to want to quit. Just think of money you will save. Once you quit you will start to realize what a disgusting filthy habit it is. I hate the smell of it now. I smoked for a few years in college. Being a slave to an addictive corporate product was my main reason to quit.

 

I bought a pack of my favorite expensive French cigarettes, took one puff off of one of them, and then threw the pack away. I hate wasting anything so the anger I had at myself for wasting $10 kept me from buying any more. I found cinnamon gum to be a great way to deal with cravings. Coke-a-cola or other caffeinated products also helped. Then I quit those too. That was years ago, but I recently also just gave up all meat and dairy. Now that was difficult. Not because of addiction, but because of habit. Once you break the habit you'll be fine. Good luck!

[tony1960]

look up Alpha Lifestyles in Canada. Its a laser accupuncture procedure. I smoked for 21 years at 2+ packs a day. I walked out of there a non smoker. If you follow all their directions, it will work. it was $315 at the time i went in. they are just over the river in Canada. There is also one in Birmingham but the lady that does the procedure is annoying as hell and she makes you want a cig shortly after walking through the door!!! I quit for 5 years after going to the one in Canada. I would still be a non smoker if I hadnt gotten transferred to the rough part of Detroit with my job. My withdrawls were minimal and easy to control. The docs in Canada make you feel at ease and comfortable. It doesnt hurt at all! I will quit again!!!! And I will go to Canada to do it. Good Luck Friend!! Medcnman.

That worked for me too. Next July will be the 10 year tobacco free mark for me. After their treatment I did have withdrawal symptoms but at a much lower intensity than cold turkey.

[CannabisPatient#1]

I've been smoking cigarettes 40 years now and next week it will be 41. Have tried to quit--hypnosis, counciling, Chantix, all over the past 3 years and I can't stop! (Although I am down from 3 packs a day to 'only' two). What worked for you? I'm in great health without problems, but how long can I be lucky? I really need to quit. Gotta go, time to light up...just can't stop.

 

CHANTIX! I quit and Chantix works GREAT! Getting off Chantix is a breeze compared to quiting cold turkey and switching from Cigs to Chantix wasn't hard at all. If you are ready to quit get Chantix and something to keep your hands and mouth busy. Carrot and celery sticks, suckers, and joints. Use lots and LOTS of edible cannabis aka medibles and smoke or better yet vaporize lots of kind nugs.

[busa76]

I had to get scared to stop smoking. None of the aids to quit smoking worked. I have 2 small children, and woke up very heavy chested in the middle of the night one night. I want to watch them grow old and make their own families. After my middle of the night, very hard time breathing episode, I realized that the way to increase the chances of me being able to do so, I had to quit right then. I haven't had one since. Also, it is impossible to have "just one". That always leads right back down the path to addiction again. Just my 2 cents though....

[SparklyBuds]

My lungs are so bad right now, if I don't quit now, I probably never will. I've smoked Cigs for 26 years, have had "asthma" for 15 & been on two inhalers for that long. Earlier this year I started Oxygen at night. I can barely smoke a j. anymore, and can't smoke any other form (bong, bowl). I've tried Vaporizing, and that made me choke worse than smoking .

 

So all that, and now, for a few days my inhalers aren't working, audible wheezing, constant coughing, can't breathe, sound like I run a marathon just from walking to the bathroom. Big fun. I saw the PA a couple days ago & got Steroids for a few days & antibiotics just in case it's infection but he thinks it's Inflammation / Chronic Bronchitis. All this and I am stil smoking. The good news is, I'm smoking less. Yesterday I only smoked One Pack. I am just so dang frustrated that I can't quit. Well I'm still trying. I"m going to look on my Health Insurance website because I think they cover Nicoderm, so I will check into that today & if I have to I'll go see the PA again for a prescription for that stuff.

I guess I kind of have to stop beating myself up about not quitting, because the angrier & more frustrated I get the more I want to smoke. Gawd what an awful habit. It helps a lot reading this thread. Thanks everyone for reading my "Vent".

 

 

 

[Mememe]

Good luck and don;t quit quitting SB.

[whacked]

you are getting very sleepy..................... your eyes are very heavy................................ you are asleep but can still hear me. You will no longer crave ciggerettes and will not remember this......... you will awaken in 5.. 4.. 3..2.. 1.. awake!

[Michigandr]

My uncle quit smoking by replacing a cigarette with ice tea... Whenever he had a craving he would drink iced tea. Im sure that doesnt sound very helpful but you gonna have to replace the habit with "another" ice tea seems like it could be worth trying. But you gonna have to change your eating habits too because u wont have a appetite suppressant. Might gain wieght. Maybe iced tea and exercise + a good book. I would recommend Battle Royale, To Your Scattered BOdies Go and Adrift.

 

I have a friend that quit smoking by just taking a puff of his meds when he got a craving. Seems to have worked great. Cold turkey is the only way to go. I dont think gum works great, cause u might be satisfied for a while but u will prolly end up smoking again. Good Luck. I have had 2 friends quit smoking in the last year and they are doing great.

 

Good Luck, dont give up!

[Michigandr]

you are getting very sleepy..................... your eyes are very heavy................................ you are asleep but can still hear me. You will no longer crave ciggerettes and will not remember this......... you will awaken in 5.. 4.. 3..2.. 1.. awake!

 

This guy could die from this and your crackin jokes. Love this website

[jjbigs]

I've been smoking cigarettes 40 years now and next week it will be 41. Have tried to quit--hypnosis, counciling, Chantix, all over the past 3 years and I can't stop! (Although I am down from 3 packs a day to 'only' two). What worked for you? I'm in great health without problems, but how long can I be lucky? I really need to quit. Gotta go, time to light up...just can't stop.

 

well if your not rolling your own, start, it will save you money, dont make a bunch at a time, only roll a cig when you feel the need for one, It will cut you down even farther, they also have a new plastic filter called, tar bar and tar stopper, it is for smokers who cant quit, it blocks alot of the tar and nicotein w/o changing the flavor,

 

smoking cigs is one of the hardest things to stop doing! and what realy blows is it doesnt do anything for you but make ya broke and mess up your lungs, no buzz, no medicinal uses, only bad, and the gov taxes the hell out of it! time to take matters into your own hand, quit smoking the brand you like, realy buy lil pouches of tobaco and roll your own, you can also add mm to it and kill 2 birds with one stone! Best of Luck to ya, I can try and hypnotise ya again, I have an old special pocket watch! watch the pocket watch. you feel sleepy your feeling sleepier!

 

 

[jjbigs]

My lungs are so bad right now, if I don't quit now, I probably never will. I've smoked Cigs for 26 years, have had "asthma" for 15 & been on two inhalers for that long. Earlier this year I started Oxygen at night. I can barely smoke a j. anymore, and can't smoke any other form (bong, bowl). I've tried Vaporizing, and that made me choke worse than smoking .

 

So all that, and now, for a few days my inhalers aren't working, audible wheezing, constant coughing, can't breathe, sound like I run a marathon just from walking to the bathroom. Big fun. I saw the PA a couple days ago & got Steroids for a few days & antibiotics just in case it's infection but he thinks it's Inflammation / Chronic Bronchitis. All this and I am stil smoking. The good news is, I'm smoking less. Yesterday I only smoked One Pack. I am just so dang frustrated that I can't quit. Well I'm still trying. I"m going to look on my Health Insurance website because I think they cover Nicoderm, so I will check into that today & if I have to I'll go see the PA again for a prescription for that stuff.

I guess I kind of have to stop beating myself up about not quitting, because the angrier & more frustrated I get the more I want to smoke. Gawd what an awful habit. It helps a lot reading this thread. Thanks everyone for reading my "Vent".

 

I also have asthma and c.o.p.d and havent quit yet. That oxegyn tank at nite should do it for ya, but we all have our bottoms, I also use 2 inhalers! it makes it so I can continue to smoke and breathe, wow thats bad eh? so I feel ya, I know what its like!

 

ok on the vaping, I have noticed I cough my butt off if I dont do it correctly, also I have noticed just smoking a joint makes me cough and I have a rough time doing it, but I defiantly notice a big diff in my breathing about 20 mins after using mm in either of them ways, my dr. asked me if i quit smoking the last time I went, Becuase my lungs sounded so much better than the last time she checked me, I told her no I did not quit smoking tobacco but I started vaping my mm, she couldnt beleive the difference in my breathing and actualy asked me info on where to get vapes and mm lol! I told her most tobbaco stores sell the vaporizers now, and the despenses were still open, I told her send em to a dispense if they dont have a c.g!

 

give that vape a chance if ya can tolerate it, see if it works for you, it took me several wks to notice a perm difference, but only 20 minutes before i was breathing good! Best of luck to ya, yes and dont quit quiting!

[abe supercro]

you all have loved ones that are counting on you people. good luck conquering this mountain. never underestimate your will power.

[lawyercaregiver]

I've heard of amazing results from acupuncture. No cravings whatsoever after the treatment. I'm not sure I buy it, but that's what I've been told. I quit when they went up to $.35 a pack and I still occasionally get the urge.

 

Among heroin' addicts, about 3 percent rank the urge to smoke as equal to or stronger than the urge to take heroin. Among those addicted to alcohol, about 50 percent say the urge to smoke is at least as strong as the urge to drink. (Relative Addictiveness of Drugs)

 

This is link to a free e-course on quitting. It is sent to your email for 10 days.

Free E-course

 

Here is something to keep your mind focused.

 

Nice Pic to see while you are eating breakfast!

 

Is it not amazing how there is so much helpful advice here on quitting smoking when (probably) almost everybody on this board smokes (cannabis). One of the safest therepeutic substances known to man to be sure but I still find it fascinating.

 

Best of luck to you my friend. Smoking is not just the nicotine addiction but also the setting in which you smoke. For example, if you always puff up while watching TV it may actually be EASIER to just quit watching TV than to quit smoking. Try doing activities that are NOT associated with smoking during your withdrawal period. After that, just don't buy any more! I know, easier said than done, but we are pulling for you. Best!